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Ridgid R4512 Table Saw w/HF 20% at HD.. YAY!

05-17-2012, 01:35 AM

I've been looking at this table saw for months and finally decided on it tonight.. at about 9:15pm knowing they closed at 10. Grabbed a Harbor Freight flyer with the 20% (off any single item) coupon and went to the local Home Depot. Asked a guy in the Tools area if they accepted competitors coupons and he said 'usually'. Argh! Explained that I had a 20% coupon from HF and wanted to use it on the R4512. He went to the manager and came back saying 10% only. Nope, I'll go to another store or buy a Grizzly instead I replied. He went back to the manager and returned saying 10% and if I signed up for a HD credit card it would be another 5%. Sigh...

I explained that I didn't need another credit card, certainly not a store card, and it would be useless anyways as I pay the balance off every month so I never pay interest. I wanted the saw but unless it was less then $400.00 I'd go elsewhere. I politely said no and thanked the employee for his time and efforts adding that HD is typically my go-to store and for the most part do most of my general shopping there. I turned and headed towards the door.

He asked if I'd mind if he went to the manager a 3rd and last time for me. He came back with a cart and another employee saying "lets get this guys new table saw out to him truck". btw it was now 9:55pm.

Long story but don't give in to that initial coupon denial.. or the 2nd. I was ready to leave without the saw and the employee knew it. He just needed to let the manager know it too.

Now.. I need to clean up, get it out of my Explorer, in the house and down the stairs.. myself! My shop is in the basement and it isn't happening tonight lol.

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I was JUST about to post this myself, but my process was a little smoother. Cross post from mine. Thankfully I don't have to move the thing down stairs myself as mine is living in my garage, but it fit in my car like a hand in a glove...no really just as snug! My first big tool purchase and oowee was I happy!

Not Thread jacking, just sharing my experience:

Welp...walked into Home Depot, by accident I found a manager (thought he was just a floor employee) and said I would like to purchase the R4512 and as we were walking towards it I flashed hime my printed Harbor Freight coupon and he said, "Yeah, I can take that." He then proceeded to talk about the granite top version and I had missed them by 3 months. While we were loading it onto the dolly, another worker came along and proceeded to talk about the granite top version. Oh well...apparently a LOT were shipped cracked and Ridgid got sick of replacing them and switched to the cast iron.

Got up to the register and the cashier was a week old...he said, Oh I can't take this. It can't be a print out. I said...call Nick (first guy I talked to), and the cashier called another manager who said, we don't take it. I then proceeded again to say talk to Nick. He did, and voila...20% off!

Thanks for all the help!!! I started to put it together tonight before it got dark and got the stand and casters attached to the top. Trying to flip it without assistance was quite a biotch though. Can't wait to finish putting it together and run some tests!

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Thanks. I knew I'd have to fight it out from the start but the employee offering to go back and forth without me asking was great. I also need the Ridgid router for some trim work so I wanted the $100.00 savings for that... next month. I'm in hopes to get the time and space to setup next week.

Nice forums here also! I've found there is a wealth of info here even aside from the Ridgid name.

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congrats on the buy. tool purchased below retail always work better than their full retail price counterparts. one small suggestion before you assemble the saw. check out this forum for problems that saw has had with blade parallelism changing as the blade is elevated and lowered. it would be a shame to find out there is something intrinsically wrong with your 4512 after it's fully assembled. just my $.02.

there's a solution to every problem.....you just have to be willing to find it.

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Having JUST finished mine last night. Here are some tips/tricks that I remember and wish I knew prior.
- the two side panels to the legs (without the warning stickers) are different...one has holes drilled in and the other doesn't...make sure the one with the holes goes OPPOSITE the motor housing. You will install the fence shelf to those holes and if you put it on the motor housing side you will run into storing issues with storing the Miter and the fence at the same time.
- Have 2 2x4's handy to clamp from end to end (steel extension to steel extension) when installing the fence rails...it will make your life easier when you are trying to sqaure the rail, table, and fence at the same time. If you decide to not do this (I didn’t have 2 2x4’s handy), then set the fence to the blade like it says in the manual, then move the fence to the END of the steel extensions, and use the fence to gauge the distance. I also lightly tightened the fence to “clamp” the rails and table where I wanted to then tighten the screws that attached the rail to the table extension.
- To keep your fence from squeaking when riding the rail, twist the place screws (next to the two indicator panels) so you aren't riding on the metal screws.
- Make sure you have another person to help you invert the table after you install the legs.
- Place your yellow key in your switch IMMEDIATELY!!! I almost lost mine because I didn't remember where I placed it during unpacking.

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If your blade is out of alignment by 1/32"...ACCEPT IT AND MOVE ON!!!!!!

I spent an HOUR trying to knock the 1/32" out, but for some effed up reason when I would intuitively tap the motor housing it would move the OTHER end of the saw housing and NOT the side I just struck the housing...Also...unscrewing 3 and LIGHTLY unscrewing the 4th as a pivot point does NOT help at all...

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Adrenolin...I used my saw a decent deal this weekend and there was an issue with it being slightly out of alignment because as I pushed the stock through (after the wood was through the front of the blade), the back being out would cause friction with the back of the blade...so I will be utilizing THIS method to fix it!Furnitude: Blade Alignment -- Second Attempt -- Success!

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Well call me impressed! I must have had that horseshoe in the right place as everything worked out great.

It started by having a neighbor drop in as I was about to tackle this thing on Sunday and with 2 people it was simple to carry the main section from the garage, out through the front door, down and around the hallway then down and around the steps to the basement. Tossed him a beer, chatted then he took off. I brought the rest down and then Sunday evening started assembly.

Took about 4 hours with 2 wife interruptions, a phone call and a few cold ones. Everything went together as it should and there really were no issues. Base, wings, dust chute and legs went together in a flash. The roller caster assembly worked perfectly after I right sided the table and stepped on it. Can move the table around on the concrete floor with 2 fingers and when I flip the foot lever up it drops down with a good thud and is not moving at all. The front and rear rails were a breeze to assemble even without any 2x4s or clamps.. simply put the 2 halves together, hold them to the table and pop in the bolts. Rear was easy since you could screw 1 then a 2nd into the cast iron table. The front wasn't any big challenge either though I had to lift a leg to hold it while the first bolt was fastened. Rip fence went on and slid back and forth easily once I got the side wings adjusted correctly. Aligning the rip fence zero indicator to the front measuring scale was the biggest challenge of the entire assembly really and that only took a few minutes to zero both sides in. No side to side play in the fence when its not tightened down as I've seen others have issues with. Slides gently from left to right side without any jitters or catching... once I dropped the left side wing down a hair. There does seem to be a very slight hump in the center of the left wing but its so small I'm not concerned at this point. If its an issue I'll call and get a replacement.. might anyways but its so slight the replacement could be worse.

Blade, spreader/riving knife, fence alignments were pretty much all spot on! The riving knife needed an ever so slight correction. As I said.. that horseshoe thing! Did the nickle test and no vibrations at all. Ripped 2 sheets of 1/2" plywood today and its like butter. Also ripped 2 6' lengths of 3/4" poplar and red oak with included blade without problems. Need to rip some 3/4 Walnut hardwood flooring tomorrow to finish off the floors in the babies room so we'll see how that goes.. I know its hard stuff!

Looking forward to breaking this thing in over the next few weeks! So far I've very happy with the purchase and don't see any reason to upgrade from this for what I do.

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Nice deal! Once you get that saw aligned, be sure to get a good blade for it. The stock blade is mediocre and won't stay sharp very long. The blade and alignment pretty much dictate how well your saw will perform...you and your new saw deserve a better blade! You may want to add a shop built crosscut/miter sled, and/or an aftermarket miter gauge too. Enjoy and be safe!